Cliff Bleszinski outs Boss Key Productions

Cliff 'CliffyB' Bleszinski has ended his two-year holiday from the games industry with the launch of Boss Key Productions, in partnership with Arjan Brussee.

Days after teasing his return to the games industry, Cliff Bleszinski has announced his new project: Boss Key Productions, which he has co-founded with Guerilla Games co-founder Arjan Brussee.

Named for a feature in selected PC games that would pause the action and load a simulation of productivity software at the stroke of a key should management approach a worker's desk, Boss Key Productions is currently operating in a semi-stealth mode. Its website is live, but offers little beyond the ability to subscribe to the company's mailing list.

What is known, thanks to some digging by Polygon, is that the company is a joint project between Bleszinski and Brussee - their first together since the development of the Jazz Jackrabbit platforming franchise in the 90s. Legal filings discovered by the site indicate that the company will concentrate on the development and sale of digitally-distributed multiplayer and single-player games titles.

'I do not comment on rumours and speculation on the birthday of the nation that could allow a game designer to have a fantastic 20 year run at his first studio and then take nearly two years off only to seek out funding and start his new lean, agile, fun start-up in Raleigh, N.C.,' Bleszinski told the site in a tongue-in-cheek statement.

The company's first project, believed to be known as Bluestreak, is expected to be announced this week.

Originally Posted by SkiddywinksSeems far more likely to simply be named after boss keys. You know, as in keys used to access the level boss etc.

I have never heard anyone refer to the last key in a level as the "boss key." Well, until now, obviously. My usage, however, is well established - as demonstrated by Wikipedia et al. Given that CliffyB will have played the same games I did back in the day, I'm sticking to my guns on this one. He's been in the industry for more than two decades; he knows exactly what a boss key is.